Brothers
Chapter 47: Deathsong, Part 1
It's been a few hours since we left Berk behind. I've been flying adjacent to Toothless and the other dragons (occasionally striking a conversation when things get boring.)
Sometimes I would glide (and admittedly I would let my tongue hang out like Tooth does…please don't tell anyone…) but even gliding couldn't take my mind off the fact that our trip was taking too long.
This is definitely the longest flight any of us has ever taken, and it shows. Even Toothless and I (despite our stamina) are tired from the trip now.
Hiccup looked down toward his best friend, patting him on the neck to get his attention, "Toothless, let's check to see what's below us…hopefully, some place we can rest." The Fury purred in response, acknowledging the request.
Tooth let out one of his abilities: an echolocation to see what lay ahead of us (it's an ability he's been trying to teach me, but it's easier said than done…oh well…maybe one day!)
Nothing, the scrawny Viking thought to himself…blowing air nervously in response. To make matters worse: it started raining…hard. Astrid, Stormfly, and Spitfire swooped in, with the rider expressing her concern, "it just gets worse the farther we go in!"
Not long after, Haddock spots a glimmer of light (and hope) shining through the sea of clouds: a way out of the heavy storm? It must be…the rest of us followed closely behind Toothless, who breached through the wall of clouds.
Shortly thereafter, our group is met with an idyllic seascape: tall sea stacks and small pockets of islands as far as the eye can see! It's as if we all just entered another realm entirely! The gang was certainly excited (but most relieved.)
Then…I felt something…like a distant call in my ears: telling me to land on a nearby island ahead of us. And it wasn't just me…Tooth and the other dragons felt the urge to land too.
Once we got there, we decided to rest by a waterfall: with Fishlegs and the others taking in the scenery.
"I don't think I'm ever going back to Berk…" Snotlout quipped, lying on his back to bask in the sun.
"What's what?" Ruffnut asked.
"What is that? I don't know what that is!" Tuffnut added, being the clueless oaf he always is. I think they hit their heads too hard again. Just normal stuff that the twins did…
Anyway, our group ultimately decided to set up camp. Night soon falls and Hiccup and the others rest for tomorrow's journey. The dragons were by the shore…that left Toothless and me.
We Both sat on a cliff overlooking everyone, our scales blended perfectly under the night sky…especially camouflaging us in the dark like panthers in a jungle. The full moon's light beamed down on us all. It was a perfect setup for sentry duty! The Fury and I would take turns throughout the night. He would be thefirst watch.
I was about to fall asleep…it's been quite a long day…
"I think that's the longest I've ever seen you fly, Flint" I heard the young adult dragon say just as my eyelids got heavy. He moved his head down to meet mine.
"That was about the same distance you would have made in a plane to get across a continent like Europe…I'm just surprised dragons have that much energy to pull it off" I scoffed lightly.
"We should bring dragons here if they aren't here already" Toothless suggested. I know why he was saying it too…he doesn't want his kind to go away…maybe he thinks we are changing things enough to make his wish happen? One can only hope.
I slowly look toward the vast open-ended ocean that lies in front of us. There's enough land here to settle dragons from Dragon Island and Berk, perhaps we SHOULD do that? This island we found could be a staging ground…or, even better, an outpost. I shared this idea with him and the Night Fury just smiled softly, like a proud brother…like it was all he needed to hear to cheer him up, "get some rest, Flint." He finished just before I nodded…closing my eyes.
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…
…
I was running.
It was out of fear…something was chasing me, and it was getting closer. I tried running as fast and as far as I could…but the forest foliage slowed my progress down. Somebody I knew was close by…also being chased. I could not see their draconic visage, but what I COULD SEE were the nets and bolas being thrown to trap us!
I was panting…hoping…praying that I can escape. I couldn't fly away, and I don't know why but it must have been pretty bad or something.
Eventually…I saw in front of me two very large trees that formed an arch…and in the middle was pitch black…almost as if it was a portal. Once I ran through…I found myself in a new area entirely…
Crowds of people and their cheering drowned my ears. My brain soon realized where this was: it was a diamond-shaped stadium…a colosseum, and in front of me were armored men with sharp sticks…ready to fight and kill me. They began stepping closer as I tried to go back to the way I came; however, the arch I came through had disappeared and had been replaced with a regular stone wall. I looked behind me to see the men charging at me before I screeched in agony!
Flint…
I snapped my head up in a panic…not realizing that it was just another dream. It was another one of those strange dreams I've been having…damn it!
I clutched my head as a massive migraine took over, what the hell is going on? Why do I keep having these? Is this some kind of warning…of things to come? What is coming…what will happen? Are we supposed to be here right now? Did we make a mistake coming here?
Suddenly, my eyes turned slip…as sharp as a knife. Something was calling to me…to all of our dragons…and I soon left the cliff that I was on…
…
Morning came and the Vikings found that there was no sight of their dragons anywhere, they promptly searched every part of the secluded island, frantically searching for any sign of us.
Sure enough, though, Toothless and I were brought to the source of the strange sounds: finding a cluster of feral dragons trapped in a strange amber-like substance. Soon, the others were caught…the culprit: wasa strange large dragon with strange markings on their wings. The older Fury and I realized that it was hunting the reptiles that were trapped!
Our eyes widened before Toothless pushed me toward a rock to hide behind, "so that's what this is about…we've got to warn Hiccup and the others!" He said before I nodded furiously.
We didn't realize that this beast had hypersensitive ears and could hear us even when we whispered! I managed to hear them fly in and my ears flattened against me: "move!"
Tooth does not hesitate; we both jump out of the way like the same sticky goo strikes where we were just standing! We recover and look up to see our foe hovering above us…
Toothless bared his fangs, giving a warning growl before stepping forward menacingly.
"That was an unwise decision…"
He spat out a plasma…striking the beast flying above. Unfortunately for Toothless, they took the hit pretty well and in return, they spat out goo at us again!
Imagine the dragon's surprise when they saw we dodged their approach effortlessly. In retaliation, the other Fury and I fired back…one after another. That is when our adversary sang a "song" that tore through our minds like the Ex-Queen used to do…luring us in! I tried all I could to resist, but the PTSD from my past experiences and now was too much to bear. I began walking toward them: open to attack. Toothless was also trying his best to fight back, and he managed to see what was about to happen.
I opened one eye…expecting to be the victim, yet when I glanced over it was actually Toothless who had taken the hit. He had taken my place…and now he was stuck in a solidified state…utterly trapped!
The older Night Fury managed to say with haste, "get Hiccup…quick!" I had no choice…while the dragon was making a return pass: I dashed away to safety.
"Hang on…I'll come back!" I gasped before taking off.
"I know…" Toothless said weakly, slumping.
…
Uh oh, it's the Deathsong! Things don't look good! This chapter takes place in Season 1, episode 3 of Race to The Edge. It's one of my favorites before everything starts falling into place in the series. Anyway, I'll see you in the next one, peace!